Gift of Destruction is the 5th technique required to obtain your orange belt in Ed Parker’s American Kenpo. Gift of Destruction is a defense against a right handshake placing it in the Hugs & Holds category of the Web of Knowledge and the Hand Holds family group of the Hugs & Holds category in the Family Groups Grappling Division.

In Gift of Destruction you learn that awareness should be kept at all times, including friendly encounters. People that you trust may have an ulterior motive and a simple gesture of trust & friendship becomes an attack. It also implies a defensive familiarity with similar attacks. For example, a hand shake is very similar to a cross wrist grab. So similar that this technique would work for the wrist grab as well.

Defense

Gift of Destruction – defense for a handshake. .

Step 1

Hop forward towards 11:00 on your left foot,

Jerk your opponent’s arm diagonally downward toward your right hip,

Deliver a right thrusting knee kick to your opponent’s groin,

Deliver a left inward horizontal heel palm strike to the outside of your opponent’s elbow.

Step 2

Plant your right foot toward 11:00 into a right neutral bow stance to buckle the inside of your opponent’s right knee,

Check your opponent’s right arm downward with your left push down block,

Additional Information

Name

The term gift in American Kenpo symbolizes a handshake as a handshake is traditionally a gift of one’s trust. As we learned earlier in yellow belt, the term destruction represents the left side. In this technique your opponent offers a gift of trust (handshake) and then throws a left (destruction) punch. Hence the name Gift of Destruction

Attack

The ideal phase puts the aggressor directly in front of you. He steps forward with his right foot as he takes your right hand with his.

As stated above, awareness is the key focus of this technique. While people usually extend their hand as a gesture of good will it could be simply to throw you off guard. A hand shake could be used to inflict pain to your fingers, pull you off balance, or set you up for another strike such as a punch or a kick.

Basics & Maneuvers Used

Left Inward Horizontal Heel Palm Strike

Right Thrusting Knee Kick

Right Neutral Bow Stance

Right Inward Horizontal Elbow Strike

Left Push Down Check

Targets

Groin/Bladder

Right Outer Elbow

Right Inner Knee

Left Jaw

Concepts & Principles Taught

Angle of Cancellation

Back up Mass

Borrowed Force

Buckling

Closing the Gap

Deceptive Gestures

Jerking

Leaping

Marriage of Gravity

Pulling

Thrusting

Torque

Considerations

What if …

your opponent’s left leg is forward?

your opponent’s legs are parallel

your opponent misses the handshake and grabs your wrist?

your opponent grabs your right upper arm with his left hand?

your opponent pulls you into a right knee kick?

your opponent pulls you into an attempted bear hug?

your opponent tries to strike you with the left hand as you move forward?

Historical Notes

Historical Variations

1975 Accumulative Journal

GIFT OF DESTRUCTION (handshake)

With right hand shaking and while standing naturally. hop directly forwards or slightly to your left to 11 o’clock, depending on circumstances, with your left foot as your right hand pulls your opponent’s right hand toward and past your right hip.

With the above action, simultaneously strike in and against the joint of your opponent’s right elbow with your left heel of palm as you deliver a right knee kick to opponent’s groin or stomach.

As you plant your right foot forward (towards 10 o’clock) as against the inside portion of opponent’s right knee, (in a right neutral bow) deliver a right inward horizontal elbow strike to left jaw of opponent while checking opponent’s right arm down with your left hand.

Unfinished Orange Belt Manual by Ed Parker

GIFT OF DESTRUCTION (handshake)

With your right hand shaking your opponent’s right hand, hop forward to 11 o’clock with your left foot, as your right hand JERKS (taking advantage of your opponent’s dead weight to launch you forward) your opponent’s right hand toward you diagonally and down past your right hip. This action is aided by rotating your right arm clockwise, so that the palm of your right hand faces up. This should aid you in properly exposing the joint of your opponent’s right arm.

With the above action, simultaneously strike in and against the joint of your opponent’s right elbow with your left heel palm, as you deliver a right knee kick to your opponent’s groin. (This dual action should check your opponent’s Height and Width Zones, as well as force him to bend forward at the waist.)

Plant your right foot forward into a right neutral bow while you simultaneously (1) buckle the inside of your opponent’s right knee with your right knee, (2) deliver a right inward elbow strike to the left side of your opponent’s jaw, as (3) your left hand checks down and on top of your opponent’s right arm. (This action should cause your opponent’s head to move back and away from you.)